Complete Calvin and Hobbes arrived

[Blarg]

Woo hoo!

These are big beautiful books, three of them. Thick, glossy paper inside. The color prints look great, and there are single drawings in full color dropped here and there at intervals between the cartoons as extra treats. Some are from the covers and backs of previous Calvin collections, but I'm not sure if all of them are; it would be great if we got a new surprise or two. A Watterson essay starts it off.

As the first reviewer on Amazon.com notes, these look like hardbound books but in a sense are not, because the pages are glued rather than sewn. This could lead to the heartbreak of having such a beautiful(and expensive) collection succumb to wear and tear fairly quickly. I wouldn't be too quick to let kids handle such a beautiful piece, unless I was willing to deal with the disappointment of the ruination of something so nice. And I wouldn't read it while eating or in a position where the heavy volumes could tumble and ruin pages. It's expense and delicacy warrants treating it with care, as does its beauty.

Paging through the first volume for a couple of minutes got me so delighted I actually felt like I had to put it down, so I could appreciate it properly rather than in the middle of chores the mailman had interrupted. This monster of a collection is going to be savored uninterrupted in the proper setting with due reverence over a deliciously long time. Hooray! I have been blessed by Calvin and Hobbes! I envision many nights of very sweet dreams.